To some it will be surprising and to others it is obvious. Jehovah does indeed listen to His people and at times is willing to be influenced by them to change His mind. This does not mean that God is surprised by some new information He did not know… this is not the case. God is all knowing. It simply confirms that He loves His people and cares for them. In particular, those who are obedient and faithful will draw near to Him and have a closer relationship with Him.
Moses had a very close relationship with God. One of the clearest examples of someone successfully interceding on behalf of others and influencing God to change His mind is documented in Exodus 32. The people rebelled against God’s instruction and He was considering destroying them and starting over. Moses intervenes on their behalf to influence God’s decision.
The Golden Calf
1Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled about Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” 2Aaron said to them, “Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3Then all the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4He took this from their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool and made it into a molten calf; and they said, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” 5Now when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD.” 6So the next day they rose early and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
7Then the LORD spoke to Moses, “Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. 8“They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. They have made for themselves a molten calf, and have worshiped it and have sacrificed to it and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!’” 9The LORD said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, they are an obstinate people. 10“Now then let Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and I will make of you a great nation.”
Moses’ Entreaty
11Then Moses entreated the LORD his God, and said, “O LORD, why does Your anger burn against Your people whom You have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12“Why should the Egyptians speak, saying, ‘With evil intent He brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your burning anger and change Your mind about doing harm to Your people. 13“Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants to whom You swore by Yourself, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’” 14So the LORD changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people.
15Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets which were written on both sides; they were written on one side and the other. 16The tablets were God’s work, and the writing was God’s writing engraved on the tablets. 17Now when Joshua heard the sound of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a sound of war in the camp.”
18But he said,
“It is not the sound of the cry of triumph,
Nor is it the sound of the cry of defeat;
But the sound of singing I hear.”
Moses makes three arguments starting in verse 11, and none of them have anything to do with “the people deserve another chance”, because they did not. The first argument appeals to God in regards to why He would want to destroy the people He just brought out of Egypt with such demonstration of God’s mighty hand and great power. The second argument points not to the people but to how the situation glorifies, or would not glorify, God. Moses directly asks God to change His mind. The third argument points back to God’s fulfilling of His promises.
In all three arguments, Moses points to how the situation reflects on God and His glory and purpose rather than the perceived needs of individuals or groups of people. I think we all do well to remember these principles as we come before God to ask Him for help or intercession on someone’s behalf. It is not that God does not love or care for His people, He does. Rather the kind of attitude and perspective Moses had really showed a lot of personal maturity and showed that he was focused on God’s plans rather than his own desires. This focus is particularly common amongst those who truly follow and care for God and His glory above their own. Those are the individuals that may have the most potential to call upon our Father for consideration when there are difficult situations.
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